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We asked our readers this weekend which dream fight between a current and former UFC Champion they'd most like to see, and we got a lot of interesting responses. Here's the next batch of responses.
Taylor B. (via Facebook): Now this might be the toughest question you guys have posed yet. When you think of great UFC fighters today and ones of the past there is no question the length the sport has grown. If you think about the divisions the UFC has had from almost the beginning it makes this decision tough. I mean the two fights you would pick at welterweight and middleweight have already happened in Hughes vs GSP and Silva vs Franklin. To me lightweight's only choice would be Penn vs Henderson but I just think Henderson wins that one. But I guess my easy choice by default would be Tito Ortiz vs Jon Jones. I mean it's easy to see how that fight would play out but who wouldn't want to see an in his prime Tito get manhandled by Jones?
MMATorch Forum User cegawn: HW: Cain vs UFC 100 Lesnar. Brock wasnt the same after his comeback. This was probably him at his peak.
LHW: Jones vs UFC 86 Griffin. Griffin's a big guy, and wasnt scared to use leg kicks. Plus his guard game was good.
MW: Silva vs ??? He slaughters everyone. Take your pick for a highlight finish.
WW: GSP vs Newton. Seen him vs all the other champs. Canada vs Canada, and 2 great grapplers.
LW: Henderson vs UFC 84 Penn. Penn's TD defense and boxing was at its best. Interesting to see how Bendo counters it.
Neil M. (via Facebook): I'd like to see old man Tito Ortiz get manhandled by Jon Jones.
Anthony C. (via email): I know this can not happen, but I'd honestly like to see GSP fight himself. He has been criticized recently for not being able to finish his opponents. I'd like to see what a hungry, post title loss, GSP would do to his future self.
Phil B. (via email): I would have loved to have seen Dan "The Beast" Severn in a catch weight with Chuck Liddell. The GSP-Gracie is an amazing matchup, and to be honest I would have actually paid to see Lesnar-Fedor.
Clinton T. (via email): Considering the question specifically states "in their prime" I would love to see Benson Henderson vs. either "Lil Evil" Jens Pulver or Takanori Gomi from his Pride FC days. I think both fights would give Benson problems, and just be fights all around.
Davis E. (via Facebook): Tank Abbott vs. Roy "Big Country" Nelson. I'm a sucker for a good old fashioned slug fest. Or Royce Gracie vs. B.J. Penn.
Casey C. (via email): I would love to see Randy Couture vs. Jon "Bones" Jones! It would be something else to see Jones deal with Couture's dirty boxing and stamina sucking cage game. I feel as though Jones has only been hit twice. I suppose I should clarify and say REALLY hit. Once by Rashad Evans and once by Machida. The game plan of Randy Couture would almost guarantee we would see Jon Jones' chin checked again.
If Couture could implement his game plan we could also see if Jones has the ability to finish a fight in deep waters. The only time Jones has been in deep waters it went to a decision. There is no doubt in my mind that Jon Jones would find a way to win this fight. I would just like to see the champ in a fight where someone had a skill set that Jones didn't exceed. Or maybe that is all made up and I just want to see Jones score a TKO with some of those nasty elbows that took Rashad out of their fight!
Joel W. (via email): I would love to see Chuck vs Jon Jones. With Chuck's knock out power and Jones' exciting stand up this fight would be an instant classic (if of course the fight stayed standing). But regardless that is a fight I would love to watch!
Basil M. (via email): Now I know Bas Rutten was a Heavyweight Champion but if we're going off weight then I would consider Rutten a LHW because of how the weight classes were run back in the days. But a Prime Bas Rutten vs current Jon Jones would be an amazing fight to see! Bas' punches and kicks were amazing and his conditioning was so far above his peers. It's a shame his early childhood sicknesses caught up with him into his UFC Career and his body couldn't take the pain anymore. Otherwise we would see a GSP-Penn rivalry because there would be no clear winner and three fights over a course of a few years would be a treat for the current fans who don't know who Bas Rutten is.
Conor L. (via email): I actually thought about this for a quite a while and was surprised at the limited number of fights I could come up with. Fighters today have evolved so much from say even five years ago that most of the fights I thought of just wouldn't be competitive. For example, Jon Jones vs Tito Ortiz, Cain Velasquez vs Randy Couture or GSP vs Pat Mileteich. The current champs would have their way with the older generation. However, if I was allowed extend the boundaries of the question somewhat and select champions from other organizations, I think Cain Velaquez vs a prime Fedor would be a fight for the ages.
Quick Picks:
Ali Al K. - Prime B.J. Penn vs. Jose Aldo
Kenny D. - Penn vs. Bendo
Rob B. - Cro Cop vs. Arlovski
Windor O. - I'd love to see Jon Jones versus Chuck Liddell just for the build up
Marcques B. - Dan Henderson vs. Chuck Liddell
David H. - Liddell vs. Jones
John L. - Bas Rutten vs. Cain Velasquez
Simon L. - Rutten vs. Velasquez
Chris W. - Royce Gracie vs. GSP
Wesley. - Royce Gracie vs. GSP
Justin S. - B.J. Penn vs. Benson Henderson
Kevin C. - Royce Gracie vs. Anderson Silva
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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